Rusting All Over
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: While Emily is away helping on the Little Western, Thomas is honoured to be given the job of collecting Allicia Botti for her upcoming concert. But before that, Thomas finds himself slowly being covered in rust spots. With all these rust spots, it looks like James will be given the honour of collecting Allicia Botti.


It was another bright day on the Island of Sodor. Only two days ago, Emily had headed for Arlesburgh to help Donald cover Douglas' work while he was being repaired. Emily was enjoying herself quite well with her No. 9 brother, but while she was working there, Thomas had a few things going on in her absence. While she was having her adventures with Donald at Arlesburgh, he had a smaller adventure with some spots…

At Tidmouth Sheds, the Fat Controller arrived with a special announcement.

"Alicia Botti is coming to Sodor again all the way from Italy," he said. "She is to sing a concert at the Town Square."

"Wonderful for her to come back again," said Henry.

"Thomas, you'll have to pick her up for the concert next week. Be sure you're at the airport on time," said the Fat Controller.

Thomas was delighted to be chosen. "Oh, thank you sir!" he beamed. "I promise to look my best for such an honour!" And he set off, feeling quite excited. James, however was jealous. He wanted to please Alicia Botti too, and it didn't seem fair to miss that chance.

"Hmph!" he huffed. "It's not often I take Ms. Botti! I should be the one taking her to Town Square!"

"Oh really, James?" smirked Gordon. "She's such a coloratura, her voice would surely creep under your dome and lift it off!"

"Says the engine who lost HIS dome while trying to challenge the City of Truro's speed!" retorted James.

"Pah!" said Gordon.

Thomas beamed all day, thinking about seeing Alicia Botti again and taking her to Town Square…but there was a little obstacle for him to overcome first…

Early the next morning, Thomas was waiting at Knapford for Emily to bring a load of ballast from the Little Western to help repair his Branch Line. Emily and Donald were taking turns taking this train each day, and today was Emily's turn again. Eventually, Thomas heard Emily's whistle and she came by with the ballast. Thomas was happy to see her briefly while he prepared to take the ballast up to the repair site.

"Thank you, Emily," he said. "I hope you're doing well with Donald."

"I'm doing quite well, Thomas," Emily replied.

But when Thomas collected the trucks, Emily noticed something on his dome. Then Thomas saw that she was looking at him quite intently and wondered what she was doing.

"Emily, what is it?" asked Thomas.

"You…you have a big spot on your dome, Thomas," she said.

"A spot?" asked Thomas.

"Don't worry. I don't notice very much," assured Emily. With that, she set off to return to Arlesburgh and continue her work with Donald.

While Thomas took the ballast to the repair site on his branch line, he thought about what Emily said.

"What kind of spot?" he wondered. "I hope it's nothing serious. Alicia Botti would not want that at all…"

After he delivered the ballast, he set off to work more on the main line. As the day passed, no one seemed to mention anything about any spots. This was a relief to him, as he felt he still had a chance for Alicia Botti. And no engines seemed to say anything about it either. Everywhere he went, no one seemed to say anything, all the way into the evening. By then, he assumed it wasn't too much of a problem.

"Hmm. Must just be a little dirt," he thought to himself. "Nothing too serious…hopefully."

But the next day, after Donald brought another load of ballast for the branch line, Thomas was working again. It was a rather hot day and the sun was beating down on his paintwork since that morning. Thomas was beginning to feel a little queer.

"My dome is feeling funny," he said to himself. "It feels almost…crisp, crusty…"

But his thoughts were interrupted by Diesel's horn. "Oh my, Thomas! You look like you have the measles!" he laughed as he oiled past.

"I do not!" hissed Thomas. But secretly, he was getting nervous. Perhaps he was gaining more spots.

"What is going on?" he asked himself. "I haven't been getting dirty. What spots are these? I really hope none of the others see me like this! Especially Alicia Botti! She won't want me to collect her from the airport like this!"

Then as Thomas was huffing along the main line, James suddenly sped past him.

"Oh dear, Thomas! You're not a pleasant site! Can't stop! Don't want to catch your spots!" he whistled as he sped down the line. This made Thomas cross. By now, he wanted to know exactly what was wrong.

"I am not well!" he insisted to his driver. "What is going on?"

His driver stopped and looked around Thomas. "You're right that you're not well, Thomas. You're covered with rust spots. This will require some rubbing down and a repaint."

"Rust?!" gasped Thomas. "Cinders and Ashes! No wonder I'm being teased! What will I do for Alicia Botti now?"

He found out soon after that. When the Fat Controller saw him at Knapford Station, he was rather disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Thomas," he said. "But in this state, you won't be able to collect Alicia Botti."

Thomas felt like he had let everyone down. It was poor timing and a poor coincidence. Even worse, James was there to hear everything…and get a little bit of information making him beam even more.

"Since there is quite a shortage of paint at the moment, I'm afraid you won't be able to be repainted in time, Thomas," said the Fat Controller. "James, you'll have to collect Alicia Botti when she arrives."

"Ohh…Thank you, sir!" gloated James. "Well, Thomas, it's such a good thing I didn't catch YOUR spots! You see…" James trailed off at the Fat Controller's expression.

"Ohh…" he groaned before he turned and left the station. And James set off, feeling like he was having a ball, while Thomas groaned angrily and enviously to himself as he steamed away himself.

"This isn't fair!" he huffed. "James doesn't have to go around bragging about this!" But Thomas had little idea what would happen in just a few days…

The day of Alicia Botti's arrival came. At Tidmouth Sheds, the sun rose and Thomas woke up feeling even more jealous. Before he could complain, James spoke first.

"Well, I'll be off to collect Ms. Botti! Very fine indeed!" he gloated while Thomas fumed grumpily.

James began to leave his berth. "I'm coming for you, Ms. Botti!"

"No you're not, James," said a voice. The Fat Controller was there.

"I have some unfortunate news," he said. "For a day or two, Ms. Botti has been flaring up a throat infection. As such, she can't perform at Town Square. She has to postpone her tour until she recovers. Quite a shame."

Thomas felt sorry for Alicia, but also a little relieved. At least she wouldn't have seen him with all his rusty spots. And if he was lucky, perhaps this would give him time to have his rusty spots rubbed down and repainted.

"Well, surely, I will not fail her when she recovers," boasted James. The Fat Controller was about to turn to leave, when he suddenly noticed something on James. He walked over and looked more intently…and then looked dissatisfied.

"What is it, sir?" asked James.

"James…you have an awfully large rust spot on your paintwork…right there on the left."

"WHAT?!" James burst out in shock. "I've got the spots?!"

"Yes," said the Fat Controller blatantly. "You'll need a repaint too…but there's still a shortage of paint right now. Only time will tell who will take Ms. Botti now when she recovers. I'll confirm it later." And he left the sheds.

"Well, well, well, so much for all your bragging…Jimmy," teased Thomas, feeling that he could get back at James for the teasing and bragging. He set off to collect another set of ballast for his branch line, while James groaned dreadfully.

Thomas was waiting for Emily to come by with more ballast, giggling with glee with James' predicament. But he was also heavily hoping that there would be more blue paint to get him repainted first and get his chance back. Soon enough, he heard Emily's whistle as she arrived with the ballast. But suddenly, Thomas heard a yelp from Emily.

"Thomas! Whatever happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas. Then he remembered. "Oh…the spots? I've been growing some rust spots, Emily. Maybe that's what you noticed on my dome."

"Well…are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," said Thomas. "And…also quite content."

"About what?" asked Emily.

"Well, Two days after you left, the Fat Controller came by and told me to collect Alicia Botti for a concert at Town Square. Then after you saw my spot, I was growing more until I was called off picking Ms. Botti up…and James got that job…until today. Poor Ms. Botti has a throat infection and delayed her performance. Now I just hope I get repainted first so I can take her after all…"

"Well, I'm sure you'll be looking better soon enough, Tommy. I have to get back to Arlesburgh now," said Emily.

"Thanks, Emily. Bye, now!" whistled Thomas as he took the ballast again.

That night at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas fell asleep, still hoping dearly for a change in fortune for whenever Ms. Botti recovered. But James was feeling ashamed over his rusting paintwork. When most of the engines were asleep, he was staring at the stars again.

"Oh dear…I do hope I can be repainted before Thomas can…" he murmured to himself. "I really should take Ms. Botti…"

"I would not be so dependent on chances…like you once were," said a voice. James looked to the right. It was Molly who had spoken.

"What do you mean, my Shining Sun?" he asked.

"I think you know," said Molly. "Remember when you got excited to be in a poster after Edward was announced for that?"

"Yes…why?" asked James.

"James, you're letting your high enthusiasm make you be conceited again. It's not Thomas' fault if he gets rusty spots…and it's not your fault either that you have a spot now. If you're given such chances, it's mostly only because you're needed for the job, not because you're being given a treat."

James sighed, but saw Molly's point. "Alright, Molly. I just can't help having fun when I get my chances…but now those chances are being challenged by my current state. I know I shouldn't be so full of myself…but I'm happy you're here to give me advice." And he winked to Molly.

"Thank you, James," she whispered as she and James fell asleep.

For a few hours, there was complete silence in the air, except for chirping crickets…but then suddenly, there was a far-off rumble in the air, sort of like a plane, but it was just loud enough to make some of the engines stir. But there was nothing happening and soon the rumble faded away. The engines went back to sleep and forgot about it.

But at Arlesburgh…that rumble was really the explosion that destroyed the ballast chute and scared all the Small Railway Engines.

"Oh! Heavens!" wailed Rex. "What was that?!"

"Fire! FIRE!" shouted Bert. "Mike! Where are you Mike?!"

"I'm over here!" shouted Mike. "I'm alright!"

And so when day came, Emily saw the scene of destruction and the investigation began while she spent her time finishing her work with Donald at Arlesburgh. But then a few days passed after the explosion in Arlesburgh, shocking all the Small Engines and killing one of Mr. Duncan's employees. It was now just one day before Emily returned to the Main Line after taking "The Scrap." Daniel Phelps and Shay Gallagher were called up to Tidmouth Morgue. Dr. Walter Bishop, the coroner who examined the death of Eli Cunningham, had completed his autopsy and was ready to show the results to the two detectives.

Dr. Bishop was checking his autopsy once more when the detectives knocked on his office door and stepped in.

"Ahh, you two made it in time," said Bishop. "The autopsy is all right here."

Phelps and Gallagher read the autopsy very closely, taking notes every now and then as they processed their own thoughts. After quite a while, Phelps spoke up to voice his theory.

"Well, Dr. Bishop," he said. "I must say the explosion is what ultimately killed Eli."

"With all due respect, sir, your assumption is incorrect. Cunningham was already dead before the explosion ensued," Bishop replied.

Gallagher chuckled lightly. "You're pulling our leg, Doc. Surely you must be joking."

Bishop stared Gallagher right in the eyes. "I've been doing this job for twenty-three years, son, and no one has laughed at one of my jokes."

Gallagher's smile disappeared as Bishop kept explaining.

"The death was not caused by the explosion. Through my autopsy, Cunningham had injected himself with a deadly overdose of morphine into his jugular. That killed him before the explosion occurred."

In that moment, Phelps suddenly remembered the syringe at the scene of the crime. That must have been what the morphine that killed the victim…but who could have been responsible? Did Cunningham kill himself…or did someone else inject him?

"Well now. Hmm…any theories from you, doctor?" asked Phelps.

Bishop cleared his throat and answered. "If I may…the one responsible for Cunningham's death is also responsible for the explosion. Obviously, Mr. Cunningham was on night duty to operate the ballast chute. He may have caught site of the criminal who planted the explosives, and then to avoid any witness evidence, the criminal might have killed Cunningham to cut off any loose ends…while in his or her haste, likely forgot to dispose of the used syringe…giving us this little clue."

"Hmm," said Phelps. "Duly noted. Anything else."

"Actually…yes," said Bishop. "I investigated the syringe further…and I can safely deduct that the morphine it contained was the same brand of morphine that was stolen during the Kathryn Heist. And since then, that morphine has been illegally distributed across Sodor by a currently unknown group of people. All we know right now is that this party is the source of many of the deaths that have befallen people over the last few weeks."

Neither Phelps nor Gallagher said anything as they just analyzed everything that was said, thinking about what else could be done to settle this issue…

Meanwhile, Thomas had finished his daily ballast delivery when he saw the Fat Controller.

"Thomas, I have wonderful news for you. More blue paint has arrived. You must go to the Steamworks to deal with your spots and be repainted," he said. "And I've heard that Ms. Botti is feeling much better now and will be performing this evening. You'll be taking her to her concert after all."

"Really? Thank you, sir!" exclaimed Thomas. "Thank you so much!"

At the Steamworks, Thomas beamed happily from buffer to buffer as his rust spots were rubbed away. He watched the mirror and saw the rust spots getting smaller and smaller. Then he saw the paint buckets being opened, making him even happier. After a fair amount of time, Thomas came out of the Steamworks, looking brighter and shiner than ever.

"Thank you, sirs!" Thomas called behind himself to the workmen in the Steamworks. Thomas collected Annie and Clarabel and went all the way to the airport just in time to see Alicia Botti arrive.

"Welcome back, Ms. Botti," smiled Thomas.

"Thank you, Thomas," said Alicia. "You're looking very splendid!"

"All aboard!" whistled Thomas as Alicia boarded Annie. At last, Thomas was on his way to Tidmouth Town Hall for the long-awaited concert. He could hear Alicia singing to herself inside Annie, enjoying her ride. Thomas felt even happier to be pleasing his special passenger.

As Thomas huffed through Tidmouth, he saw James watching from the sheds. This time he was covered in rust spots just like Thomas was.

"Hey Thomas…" he called. "I'm sorry for bragging and teasing you…I guess I'm paying the price for what I did."

"No worries, James," said Thomas. "I'm busy with Ms. Botti now."

Alicia Botti and Thomas arrived at the Town Hall just in time, and sang strongly and successfully for everyone. The Fat Controller was quite pleased.

"Well done, Thomas. Well done, indeed," he said. "You have served Ms. Botti very well."

"Of course, Thomas," said Alicia. "I am very proud to have you pick me up after such an uncomfortable illness I had to overcome."

"You're welcome, Ms. Botti," smiled Thomas.

Later, when everyone left Town Hall, the Fat Controller had gone home for the evening. When he returned to Topham Hall, he sat in the living room, and sighed with great relief. After the sheer unexpectedness of the explosion at Arlesburgh and the fact that Sailor John was at large again, he was quite thankful for the chance to relax and enjoy a memorable concert from Alicia Botti, as many other people surely needed too.

The next day was when Emily dealt with "The Scrap," and had quite an easy run with them after the oldest truck broke apart. All that day, Thomas was feeling happy after his change of fortune. James got his chance to be repainted and made no more boastful remarks to Thomas about Alicia Botti or rusty spots.

That evening, Thomas was at Knapford Station when he saw Emily come back, looking quite happy.

"Welcome back, Emily," he smiled. "So, how was your time working with Donald?"

"I couldn't be happier with my achievements, Thomas," she replied. "After working there, I have Donald as a good brother just as well as Douglas. As long as I work with one of them at a time, all will be well, but I love them both as brothers now, just as they love me as their sister."

Thomas chuckled gleefully. "I knew they'd both enjoy you in the end! That is very delightful to hear."

"Thank you, Thomas," smiled Emily. "And it's delightful to be back with you again." And she and Thomas set off together, enjoying each other's company again. It had been quite an experience for Emily to work at Arlesburgh with Donald…and an unexpected experience for Thomas, rusting all over, until he solved the problem.

* * *

This should NOT have taken so long. Yeah so this is based on another magazine story, "Spotty Thomas", thought it would be interesting to have a story coinciding with *The Scottish Connection*, seeing what Thomas was dealing with while Emily was away. Hope you enjoyed Phelps and Gallagher, cause you be a seeing a LOT more of them later on. In case you have no idea what the hell is going on with them, you NEED to read *The Scottish Connection* to understand everything. Until then, the next story won't take nearly as long to put out as this one, at least I goddamn hope so, so we'll see you guys then. Leave your reviews and tell us what you thought!


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